Reflection Of The Interview Process Of Leadership

My leadership style is about how I treat under me with respect, approachable and willing to listen with different suggestions in decision making. I want to have a cooperative teamwork, little supervision, and motivation with professionalism. There is always room for training in developing skills and expertise and encouragement to go above and beyond.

An authoritative leader addresses the end but generally gives workers freedom to innovate, experiment and take risks. The authoritative style works best for organizations that are off track, it helps in creating a new course and fresh long-term vision. The affiliative style strives to keep employees happy to create harmony among. The style has a positive effect on communication. People who like one another a lot talk lot. They share ideas, inspirations leading to flexibility, innovation and risk taking. This style should only be employed when trying to build team harmony. The democratic style allows leaders to build consensus through participation. By spending time getting people’s ideas, a leader is able to build trust, respect and commitment. This style works best when a leader is uncertain about best direction however, it does not make sense if employees are not competent. Pacesetting is a leadership style that expects excellence and self-direction. The leader is obsessive about doing things better and faster, and expects the same of everyone around

Factors that can influence an individual’s choice of leadership in any given situation are many and varied. An individual is likely to have a primary leadership style which they are most comfortable with using. Often the primary leadership style is that which most suits their innate personality traits. For example,

Leaders have a “the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals” (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 402). In the past leaders have been described by certain traits or characteristics. These traits can help an organization identify potential candidates who may be strong leaders. Later behavior approaches of leaders were identified that could be taught. In short, leaders could be made. Situations have an impact on which leader behaviors will be most effect at any given time. Several contingency theories have been formulated over the years to identify how situations influence leadership behavior. Each style has strengths and

Personal influences and team experiences also affect choice of leadership styles as team dynamics are always changing and a good manager will always utilise their team members so that each person is working to the best of their ability.

Leadership styles have significant effects on organizations. For instance, it influences organizational culture and determines how leaders address conflict. Ultimately, it impacts organizational performance. Consequently, leaders must adapt their approach to achieve the desired outcome. Therefore, it is imperative leaders understand and can implement a variety of leadership styles. This essay will describe how an autocratic and participative leader’s style impacts organizational culture, summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each style, and explain how each leader would successfully resolve conflict.

I’m predisposed to this leadership theory or style because of its consideration for awareness of the element(s) of reality, that is, life experiences and some other factors, and the adaptability to each environment one finds self. This leadership theory presents itself with the understanding that organizations are different from one to another, and as a result of the differences in structures and the kinds of people that can be found around organizations; the most important leadership capability is the ability to adapt to the environment. There is no one style that fits all, but this style helps to better lead as there are times when one may need to exact authority and at some other time, one would need to show humility. Because we all come from different backgrounds, have difference life experiences and different role models, our values, preferences and priorities become shaped over the course of lifetime. Instead of trying to fit into expectations of people about what a

Ultimately these factors would result in my behaviour being that of an affiliative and democratic style of leadership. It is also possible that a coaching style my also become apparent, where the factor is that of a personal situation.

To inspire and influence others, a leader must possess many skills and abilities. As motivational speaker Peter Northouse, states, “a leader should be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant” (Northouse, 2013) Moving an entire group of individuals toward a singular goal is a considerable undertaking. Without effective communication skills and a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished, one will feel like they are trying to herd cats rather than leading.

In comparing my leadership style to that of two of my team members, I chose to compare Robert Boyd whose leadership style is delegating – this is a leadership style where the leader leaves his or her colleagues to get on with their work, and Robert Kafka, whose leadership style is director – “an extreme form of transactional leadership, where a leader exerts high levels of power over his or her employees or team members. People within the team are given the opportunities for making suggestions, even if these could be in the team’s or organization’s interest.” (Leadership Styles: Understanding & Using the right one for your situation)

Leadership can be defined as the ability to lead a group of people successfully in an organization. Hall, et al (2008) have mentioned that an effective leader has to be visionary, motivating and responsible in order to successfully run a business organization. In business the two key leadership styles, which are widely used in today’s corporate world are autocratic leadership and democratic leadership (Johnson, n.d.). Autocratic leadership may be explained as “a leadership style where the manager sets objectives, allocates tasks and insists on obedience” (Hall, et al 2008 p.g 401). Conversely, democratic leadership encourages “participation in decision making” (Hall, et al 2008 p.g 402). Whilst many people would consider autocratic

In reflecting on my one specific leadership style is difficult because my leadership style sometimes changes depending upon the particular employee I am leading, the situations I am faced with and what I am trying to accomplish. Being the second in command of a small police agency with only twenty-two sworn officers, as well as six non-sworn employees, they all have small differences from one another. These employee differences vary widely from generational, skill sets, needs, wants and personal motivations. One particular leadership style may work well with one employee I am trying to get to complete a specific task while that leadership style may cause another employee to resist or shut down. I believe one of the true characteristics of a strong leader is the ability to recognize and appreciate the differences between my subordinates and then lead them based upon the style that they will best respond to in order to succeed.

The styles today are less authoritative and more on trying to get feedback from co-workers. This change is driven by today’s individuals that want to be treated with respect and empowered to be self-driven. Today’s business environment requires managers to constantly evaluate his or her leadership style to maintain the so called competitive edge. Leadership moves through many power roles and how power vs. soft power that relates to managers as they manage people. The types of leaders are described with characteristics, as it relates to each individual. The characteristics styles that leaders show

In terms of leadership styles a wide variety exists for one to employ (Boykins, 2013). There isn’t firm consensus as to which styles prove to be the most effective. Different situations call for different approaches. In the article, Empirical Study of Leadership Styles, it discusses several leadership styles that I can relate to.

An effective leader influences their employees in a desired manner to achieve goals and objectives. Different leadership styles can affect an organization’s effectiveness and performance. The objective of this paper is to analyze the review of literature on various leadership styles over the past years and how effective and ineffective different leadership styles are in the workplace.